Everybody Wants to Rule the World
by Inanis Incedeco
Summary: Dragon Age 2 Modern AU. Hawke was a very ordinary, poor young woman. But one day, she and her family was forced from their home. It falls upon her to provide for her family, and she will stop at nothing to accomplish that. She prostitutes herself, commits murder, and draws herself deeper and deeper into the abyss of organized crime.
1. Pilot

_Author's Note: Welcome, and thank you for reading! This is going to be my side project while another story of mine, Judge, Jury and Executioner, finishes up. I'm hoping to have updates at least once a week, but they might go slower for a while while that one wraps up. Thank you again for reading, and hope you enjoy!_

* * *

"I'm not paying you to do a half-arsed job, lazy bastard!" A strong, commanding voice called over, and Adrianne winced, scrubbing hard. She was working as a scullery maid, scouring the pots and pans in a dismal kitchen for money. It was hot, miserable work, but it was all the work that she could find.

The plate she was working on became so shining clear that she could see herself perfectly in it's reflection. She grimaced as she saw herself come into view, and her dreams abandoned her. In her fantasies, she was the beauty of the town. A successful businesswoman who everyone watched with awe, who made men scared in her footsteps, and women question their own sexuality. But above else, very much a gorgeous woman. She would have long, dark hair all done up in a bun, and sweet blue eyes that shone brightly in the sunshine.

But now she was disgusted by the person she saw staring back at her.

In reality, she had a thick and strong jawline, and short hair that looked cut with a kitchen knife. Her shoulders were tall and bulky, her face with a patchy and rough beard that refused to stay cut, a flat chest and hips that may as well have not existed.

Every day for her was a miserable, endless nightmare. She had been born with the body of a man, and life tortured her with it every day.

Hawke was a highly overqualified kitchen worker who hated herself. Above all other obstacles, of living in a local farming community, she had gone to college, to a higher education and worked herself to the bone to rise above the stereotype placed upon her, to be more than just the moronic man that everyone expected her to be.

And none of it had ever amounted to anything.

She wanted to be something more than herself, but found it utterly impossible. Her family had to live in a shanty now, with all of the trouble she had making ends meet now that her father was dead and she was the only one working. She was suffering from something of a midlife crisis, even thought she wasn't nearly old enough: She had been beaten down, stretched thin, passed over, cheated, defeminated, exploited, unfulfilled, and even her great talent, magic, had to be covered up, closeted lest the world discover it. She was a failure, unable to adequately provide for her family, and now expected to fulfil the role of the man of the family. Something her body hated her for.

"Bastard!" The voice shouted. "Get back to it!"

She sighed, tossing the plate, and her dreams, aside.

* * *

"The hell was this guy called? Al... aldric?" Carver asked as she was recounting the abuse she ahd suffered at her job, and Hawke nodded. "Jesus. Call up the police. Report this bastard."

They were all sitting around for a family meal, of what little soup Hawke could afford at her salary. Hawke sighed, knowing that wasn't the answer, but didn't speak anything. Carver was just full of hot air, and none of it would come to anything.

"Carver..." Leandra, their mother, a woman of ageing skin and greying hair, sighed. Her two sons could be too much, sometimes. She was grateful to have Bethany, to at least have another woman in the house, away from their violent minds. Now, her dear little Aidan was having struggles with his masculinity, but surely that would pass soon. It had to just be a phase, an emotional response from the death of her husband, of their father.

"I'm serious." Carver emphasised. "Even if what he's doing is legal, he might not be. Call up the FBI. Make sure he's legal, he might not be. Ship his ass back to out to cheese land, or wherever the hell he comes from."

"Carver..." Leandra sighed again, and he shrugged.

"It's fine." Hawke held up her hand, trying to broker peace in her own family. Carver was something of a hothead, and mother never knew how to let things go. "Really. Work is work, and it's all good."

"You sure?" Carver asked. "You say the word and I'll go talk to this guy. Set him straight." Hawke gave a pained little smile and shook her head. "Really, I will."

"I know. But really, it's fine." Hawke nodded emphatically. "Now, please, can we change the subject?" Carver shrugged, and continued drinking to deal with the awful taste of the food.

A minute later, he looked at his watch, and ushered them all into the next room. Hawke groaned as she forced herself to stand on wobbling legs until she found her way to the ratty, broken old couch. Carver turned up the TV up as loud as it would go, the words pounding in her head as she tried to pay attention. Carver had been keeping himself quiet all day about what he had done that day at his police job, and this must have been what he was waiting for.

Carver was on the news of the evening, standing in his uniform and looking all polished and official, puffed up like a rooster.

"-At which point we apprehended all three suspects, and placed them in custody. I am proud to say that the outstanding professionalism shown by me and my colleagues allowed for a substantial amount of narcotics to be taken off of the streets."

The Carver sitting next to them smiled and puffed himself up to look like the one on the screen. Hawke tried to listen as the rest of it continued on, she really did, but in the end the words began to blur together into a single, ringing noise in her ears. She honestly couldn't find a single damn to give about Carver's job. She loved him, she really did, but she had worked all day to make enough money for him to pursue a career that paid so little. All she could think about now was whiskey and sleep.

"Aidan?" Carver called, and she looked up at hearing her birth name. "Were you listening to me?" Hawke sighed and shook her head reluctantly. She opened her mouth to apologize and explain she had been given a rough day, but he spoke first. "You're always like this! This is important to me, and you don't care at all!"

"Carver!" Leandra chided, taking on that good natured motherly look. "Your brother works very hard all day!"

The words striking Hawke like a slap across the face, she stood and turned away so no one could see her angry, hurt expression.

"I'm going to Caroline's." She said simply, and stormed out.

Caroline was her lover, as best as it could be described. Hawke had loved her, once. Once, she had been a happy, energetic girl who had accepted Hawke wholeheartedly. But that was long since gone, and Hawke only stayed with her out of a sense of loneliness, out of not wanting to be alone.

"Hey." She greeted, painting on a smile when she found her lover sitting alone. "I was-"

"You're here." Caroline greeted. "Good. Go cook dinner, and then be in bed for sex before the sun sets."

"Oh." Hawke's smile fell a little, but she picked up again. "Okay. I-I love you."

"Mm." She grunted, and waved Hawke off.

* * *

Hawke lay on her back in bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling. Caroline lay in the same bed, but as far away as she could go.

Caroline had used her until she was satisfied, then rolled off and went to sleep without bothering to wait for Hawke to finish. Not giving a single thought for her supposed lover. She was trapped in a loveless, passionless relationship.

She pushed the covers off, and Caroline sleepily claimed them all. Hawke sighed, and stood, dressing herself and heading out and into the streets, alone.

She sat down in the gutters, and wept.


	2. End of all Things

_A.N: Yeah, sorry this chapter's short and not terribly good. It's been a long week over here, and have been focusing most of my energy on a new chapter of Judge, Jury and Executioner, which I'm more or less stuck on. So, sorry in advance._

Dawn soon rose, and Adrianne sighed, sitting up as she met the newborne sun with red and pink bleary eyes. Yet another day. Yet more misery. Yet more self-loathing. Of course. With a great, heaving sigh, she began to walk to work once more.

She soon stopped, however, when her phone began to ring. She froze and slipped it from her pocket, the front reading in stark bold letters **CARVER**. Carver never called her, and certainly not this early in the morning. God only knew if he had ever been up this early before in his life. She swallowed and answered it, stopping where she stood before she headed any further to work.

"Hello?" She asked, and could hear a desperate sigh of relief on the other end.

"Thank god you answered." He breathed, voice crackling in the connection. "Come home as fast as you can."

"What's going on?" Hawke began to run as fast as her feet would carry her, shoving her way past the rest of the people on the sidewalk, much to their groaned displeasure. "Carver?" Her voice was hoarse now, almost hysterical. No response came.

She closed the call and slammed her way through the door, finding Carver, Bethany and her mother all sitting on the couch together, staring in horror at the same grainy TV they had watched the last night.

"-The Civil Emergency and Defence Agency has declared this outbreak an official national disaster." The woman on the TV said, the signal flaring out. Hawke stepped to the side of it, watching in the same abject horror as her family. "We… we have gotten reports of the infection overrunning Ostwick, a military installation to the south. CEDA has instructed all people to seek shelter immediately. They recommend finding a designated safe house as quickly as possible, and avoiding all other persons until then. This message will play on repeat until we have more information. Please, please stay on this channel, or tune your radio to our signal." Then the message began to repeat, all of them watching in horror.

"Oh my god." Bethany whispered covering her mouth and looking forward through her fingers, her head hung. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god."

"God damn." Adrianne swore. "What is going on? Do they have any details? W-what is this?"

"I don't know." Carver answered first after they all sat in silence a moment, an uncharacteristic note of shrill terror under his voice. "They… they didn't tell us anything. Only… only that. Some… some kind of disease, running rampant. Those were the only real details." He put a hand to his forehead, breathing unusually fast as a panic attack ran through his arms, making him gasp for air. "W-w-w-what do we do?" He stammered out at last.

"We… we have to leave, right?" Leandra gasped, having previously buried her head in her hands, eyes red from crying. "Th-that's what they said to do. They know best, they have to. We… we just head off to where they told us. Up in Denerim. That's where they said to go. We… we could be there within a week if we leave now."

"No." Carver whispered. "She-sh-sh-she said… something about people who have… whatever this is being able to spread it. She called it Propagated… r-right? If everyone's running to the same place..."

"Then we're at a higher risk." Adrianne nodded. "Yeah. Being grouped in a tight space with thousands of hysterical people sounds like a perfect way to get killed, even if they don't have this… whatever the hell it is."

"We stay here." Carver suggested. "Stay in the basement, cover the windows, seal up the doors. We've got water, and food here."

"We can't just stay here!" Bethany spoke up at last, lifting her head from her hands. "If we were somewhere else, maybe. But Ostwick was only a mile or two down the road. I can guarantee you that it will be here within the day. We have to go somewhere else. Not to Denerim, but somewhere."

"We can't just leave!" Carver shouted, standing up. "This is our lives that we're talking about! We can't just leave everything behind us!"

"We have to!" Bethany shouted. "I know you love it here, but everything's about to change, whether or not we want it to."

"It's not just me!" He shouted back, face flushing a hint of red. "Listen to me. Everything we've ever cared about is here. Everything we've ever worked for is right here. If we stay here, wait this thing out, our lives can return to normal once it ends. But if we just run away like cowards..."

"This isn't about being a coward!"

"It's like you don't even care about us!"

"Carver! Bethany!"

"Don't you start!"

Bickering and shouting came from those on the couch, and Hawke gave a long, angry sigh, almost a hiss. "Alright!" She shouted above all of their voices, and it fell silent. "Everyone, shut. Up. This isn't getting us any closer to being safe. Now, we can't stay here. I know you want to Carver, but she has a point. I'm not going to endanger us all for a few possessions." Carver sighed, but didn't say anything. "Okay. We have to go somewhere. Ideas?"The room was silent a moment, tension hanging over them all.

"We can go to Kirkwall." Leandra suggested after a moment's silence. "It's not ideal, but it's across the ocean. Everyone will be heading to Denerim, but if we go west instead, find a port..."

"It'll be that much harder for this plague to follow us." Hawke nodded understanding. "Anyone opposed?" Silence. "Very well then. Pack your things. We leave in an hour."


	3. Eviction

Alarms blared, smoke and ash fluttered through the air, a street filled with smouldering debris. Hawke strutted through the destruction, heels clicking on the pavement. In one hand, she held a gun, utterly empty. The other clutched to a wounded side where blood seeped from a deep wound.

She turned once to see the destruction, and smiled.

* * *

 **One Month Earlier**

"What the holy hell do you mean the city's closed?" Hawke slammed her fist on the table, and the man looked up at her with cold, unfeeling eyes.

"What I said." His voice was measured, apathetic. "City's closed. Too many people. Wealthy businessmen and citizens. We've let too many of your damn refugees in already." He folded his arms, putting his feet up on the table. "Go away."

"Wait." Leandra stepped forward. "We have family here, an estate. My brother Gamlen, he lives here still. He can atest that we have citizenship here. Please."

The man sighed, and called it in on his radio, then looked back up at them. "Right, got someone on it. If your brother shows up, he shows up." Then he turned back to his paperwork, already forgetting their existence.

"What do we do now?" Bethany sighed, her shoulders slumped. Looking forlorn, defeated. "What if he doesn't show up, or if he can't get us in, or-"

"Bethany, Bethany." Hawke shook her head, putting a hand on either of her shoulders, holding her sister's gaze intently. "Listen to me. It's all going to be alright, okay? I'm not going to let anything happen to you, to any of us. But I need you to keep it together, alright? Fear's the only thing that can hurt you so long as I'm here. Alright?"

Bethany held Hawke's gaze a moment, seeing Hawke's serious and heavy look, then nodded slowly. "Okay. O-okay. I can do this."

"Good." Hawke nodded. "So, we wait. For now. And if something comes up, I'll worry about it."

So they waited. They found a comfortable spot to rest, and they waited. Hawke cursed inwardly when she noticed that Caroline wasn't sitting next to her, but rather uncomfortably close to Bethany. Of course. That was always the way it had been. She had always been more interested in Bethany than her. It ultimately became something that she had to grow used to. They hardly even _had_ a relationship anymore. Just two people, too afraid to leave one another for fear of being alone.

Eventually, Leandra stood and began motioning wildly. Hawke scanned the crowds, looking for some upper class man dressed in finery, the person who owned the estate and riches that her mother raved on about so often.

What she found was so, so terribly disappointing.

"Leandra!" A sleazy, balding man with greying hair greeted, and Leandra ran into his arms. Hawke's heart dropped in her chest as she realized that this was Gamlen. "God, I haven't seen you in forever, girl."

"Gamlen." She breathed, resting her head on his shoulder. "It's been so long." She buried her head into his shirt, shaking more than a little. "I was… so worried you wouldn't find us. We lost our home, everything we ever had… Malcolm's gone too." She was sobbing a little, trusting a brother that she hadn't seen in decades over her own children. "I… I..."

"Oh god, Leandra." Gamlen whispered curling an arm around her. "Please don't cry. Not here, at least. I… I don't even know if I can get you in the city."

"What?" Hawke stood, staring at him in disbelief. '"Mother said you own land here. An estate. Doesn't that earn anything here?"

"It would." Gamlen admitted, looking bashfully down. "I… let go of the estate, to settle some debts. We… don't have much of anything."

"Then it's over." Leandra whispered, shrinking down. She looked small and fragile, almost like a doll. "We… don't have anywhere to go. Oh no..."

"Can you at least her her in?" Hawke stepped forward, her eyes locked on his. "Mother? Caroline? Anyone?"

"Maybe." He admitted, nodding a little. "Listen, would you come with me?" Hawke shrugged and followed him around the corner, and out of earshot. "Listen to me. This isn't something I wanted to mention around your mother, but I might have a way for you lot to get into the city. If you're not to careful about the company that you keep."

Hawke swallowed hard, but nodded, determined. Her family was homeless, and they wouldn't make it a day just sitting here on the pavement. "Whatever it takes."

"Good." Gamlen nodded. "I hate to just dump this on your, but I don't have another alternative. These men, the same ones I lost the Estate to… well, I knew them for some years. They owe me a small favour, and are always looking for new… help, as it were. They're a private military contractor, and always need new hands. It's dangerous, and the pay is awful, but you'll have a work visa, which would let you and your family in."

"Wouldn't you have one? Don't you have a job?" She met his expectant gaze, and sighed. "Whatever it takes, then. Let's get started."

"Are you sure about this, girl?"

Hawke took a deep, shuddering sigh and nodded. No, of course not. But she didn't exactly have any sort of choice in this matter, now did she? It was either this, or go back home. And she would not subject her family to that.

* * *

"I really am sorry." He pleaded as she stared ahead, steeling herself for whatever might come. "If there was any other way, I really would-"

"Gamlen." She held up a hand, not raising her voice but adding an edge to it that silenced him completely. "It's fine. Let's go."

Gamlen nodded and ushered her inside. It certainly looked state-of-the-art, made of concrete and steel, security cameras whirring to meet them as they entered and following their every movement. Hawke's agreed upon pay was pitifully low, barely liveable, and this was certainly where that money was going. This place looked prepared enough for if the military came knocking at their door. She shuddered to think of what it would mean if they staged a revolt against the Viscount's office.

"Welcome to the future." She muttered under her breath, following the directions she had been given all the way up to Meeran's office.

Meeran was the sort of man she would have walked quickly past on the street, someone she was uncomfortable standing around. That was something, about being a woman that the world considered to be a man, that it was easier to feel safe on the streets. But she certainly didn't feel safe now, in any sense of the word.

"Morning there, Gamlen." He nodded once up at them, standing to meet them. "Remember you still owe us a hundred."

"I know, I know." Gamlen nodded. "Get it to you this week, I promise. This is her, the one you were interested in."

Hawke cringed a little, being referred to as an object, but remained quiet. "This is, huh?" Meeran grunted, looking unimpressed. "Was expecting a real woman, but whatever. Does look more than a little green around the edges. What's your name, _girly_?"

He was intentionally mocking her status as trans, Hawke could tell that much. But it didn't matter. This man didn't exactly seem to ooze acceptance towards anything at all. At least this way, she didn't have to worry about being harassed, or… worse.

"Boudica." She said simply, having chosen that as her pseudonym. The less these people knew about her, the better.

"Booti-what?" He scoffed, raising an eyebrow.

"Boudica." She repeated, hissing it a little this time. Gamlen glanced at her, confused, but paid him no mind. "The queen of the Iceni, burned London to the ground, singlehandedly led a bunch of tribals to challenge the greatest country in the world."

Meeran shrugged, forgetting how to say the name already. "Whatever." He pointed at Gamlen. "You. You can go now. This girl doesn't work out, you owe me two hundred, and she ain't coming home. Got it?" Gamlen hesitated a moment and then nodded emphatically. "Good. Now get out of my office." He leaned against his desk and waited for Gamlen to high-tail it out, folding his arms and looking at Hawke. "Well then, Booty-whatever, why do you want a job?"

"Money." Hawke answered simply, shrugging. Again, she had to play the enforcer card here, the tough guy act.

"Then go be a whore down at the Blooming Rose." He shrugged. "But, whatever. Maybe you wouldn't be so good, guys tend to like real girls, you know?" Hawke stayed mute, biting down her anger and never showing it. That was what he wanted. "You think you can handle mercenary work?"

"I'm tough, young, and determined." Hawke shrugged once more. "Family's needs money, and I'm the only provider."

"That's a good reason." Meeran nodded approvingly. "Never skimp out on family, y'know? Makes sure you keep fightin'."

"You have a family?" Hawke had to refrain from a smile, but did raise a single, elegant eyebrow.

"Yeah." He nodded. "Half sister, works with me here. Elven woman, named Athenril. Handles the dirtier side of business. Beyond that, they all died off years ago. Well, might have a couple of kids. Maybe more than a couple. But, yeah, you get my point."

"So, what do I do?"

"Right." He nodded again. "Got me sidetracked. Will have you prove yourself. Got a guy downstairs, all chained up. We got all the intel we're gonna get off of him, but can't let him go." He reached over to his desk, and threw Hawke a handgun from it's surface. "Do it, prove to me you got the stomach for this. If not, maybe we can find… _other_ uses for you, ya? Not me though, I think that would be weird, doing it with one of your shemales."

"I get it." Hawke nodded, holding up a hand. "I won't disappoint you. Just tell me where to go."

"Basement floor, room one-oh-eight. Don't keep me waiting."

Hawke had been expecting to find some mercenary type, maybe someone who looked like Meeran. Might have even been a good way for her to work her way over the slurs had had been throwing at her, either to test her mettle as a mercenary or just to screw with her.

What she found was quite different.

The man was more a boy than a man, dark skinned, short and with black hair. He had red eyes and deep wounds. His face was sunken in, and wrinkly in spite of his apparent age. He had obviously been starved and tortured.

He looked up at her, eyes wide and pleading like a dog, but remained mute. He either wouldn't, or couldn't speak. Her hand trembled a moment as it held the gun up.

But then thoughts of her family starving in the streets filled her mind, and she pulled the trigger.

* * *

 _Author's Note: So, a friend of mine reading this asked me what Hawke's personality was, and I thought my answer would benefit you guy as well, if you're interested. Put this at the end of the chapter so you don't have the scroll past it to read the main of the story._

 _Adrianne is supposed a spineless, unassuming woman who is an overqualified scullery maid who could do so much more with her life and feels picked over and forgotten. She lives with his family in a modest house, more a shanty than anything and has trouble making ends meet and lives in nearly inescapable poverty. At home, her sex life is passionless; with an abusive girlfriend who seems to be more interested in Bethany in any case._

 _When Hawke finds Kirkwall, her position in life grows even worse. Now she can't even find work as degrading as a scullery maid. Now she works as a mercenary, and assassin, and is eventually forced to be a says that before she dies, she wants to be able to take care of the people that_ _she loves. She wants Leandra to be able to move to a half decent home without holes in the roof, to make sure that they are never have to go hungry, and cover the medical bills for the whole family. While everything she does is morally dubious, the anger she feels about having to scrounge for every dollar while being trapped in a monotonous cycle, hers life passing by day by day without any job or fulfillment, is legitimate, and it's compounded by the importance placed on her now that Leandra has failed her duty to provide for the family._

 _After surviving her first foray into the dangerous drug underworld - a foray that was life threatening, terrifying, and violent - Hawke feels invigorated for the first time in years. She has been drifting her entire life, unable to live life on her own terms. She was always expected to run the family to be the man of the house, and was never allowed to be herself. She grew up too fast. She works at first to provide for her family, but continues because she feels alive._

 _Anyways, long winded answer, but thought someone might be interested in hearing it._


	4. Terribly sorry

_Author's Note: So... anyone who's read my stories long enough knows not to trust me to finish my stuff. This story was really an experiment in Modern AU's which, as I found out, I really don't like writing. I still really like the idea of this story, so I've decide to rewrite it in the normal Dragon Age setting, so if you were (Somehow) enjoying this story, please check out a story of mine called Back for More, available here. Sorry for any inconvenience._


End file.
